Today’s Green Minute – Episode 1: Cell Phones & Gorillas Earth Day

Cell Phones & Gorillas – Today’s Green Minute brings you information on green living and the environmental connection between recycling cell phones and Gorillas in the Congo. For more eco-friendly stories and news on how to be Green and protect the environment, visit TodaysGreenMinute.com. The TGM series premiered on the 40th anniversary of Earth Day!

Why It Is Important To Recycle Cell Phones?

Some of the most toxic products being tossed out as household trash are cell phones and electronic devices. This type of trash is called e-trash, and especially problematic are cell phones.

Cell phones contain a very high level of toxic substances that enter the environment when discarded cell phones are incinerated or when rainwater leaches these chemicals out of the landfills into our drinking water.

Cell phones are known to contain toxins such as antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc. These chemicals are listed by the EPA, as persistent toxins (persistent bioaccumulative toxins, PBTS), meaning they do not readily breakdown and remain in the environment for years. Of these metals, lead and cadmium accumulate in both plant and animal tissue, and have been known to be responsible for many disorders in humans.

The dangers of lead has been known for many years. It is thought to be a carcinogen and adversely affects the central nervous system, kidneys, immune system and has been associated with development disorders in children. Lead was banned from paint years ago, and manufacturers are now beginning to eliminate lead from electronic components. Every electronic device contains a circuit board and most often, lead is used to solder components on to these circuit boards.

Another especially toxic component of cell phones is brominated flame retardants. This chemical is added to plastics to reduce the risk of fire. Many components of the cell phone use this chemical. Scientific research has shown that some of these brominated flame retardants are also persistent bioaccumulative and toxic, but it is not know what long term effects this chemical has on humans and the environment.

Some of these flame retardants have been linked to cancer and disturbances in the immune and endocrine systems. When these products are incinerated, they give off highly toxic by- products. As with lead, many manufacturers are eliminating these chemicals from electronic products.

At the time when cell phones first became available to the average consumer, nickel-cadmium was used as a power source. Nickel-cadmium batteries, called Ni-Cds, were the battery of choice because they were rechargeable. The problem is that the metals used in these batteries are highly toxic. Cadmium is a PBT and a probable carcinogen. It has been linked to lung, liver and kidney damage, and has been found to be toxic to wildlife. As with the other toxic chemicals mentioned, cadmium is being eliminated from electronic products by many manufacturers.

The Lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride rechargeable battery has typically replaced the Ni-Cds, but they contain their own supply of toxic chemicals.

The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation is a non-profit organization that recycles rechargeable batteries. The program, Call2Recycle, has collected millions of pounds of rechargeable batteries and kept them from the landfills. They are trying to educate people on how easy it is to recycle a rechargeable battery or cell phone in the United States and Canada. A Google search on Call2Recycle will direct you to a recycling center near you. It’s free. It’s convenient. It’s responsible. Unfortunately, few people know about this program, so most cell phones and electronics end up in landfills.

Recycling is not the end all to solve our environmental problems. The recycling program is heavily dependent on consumers. When the economy sags and consumers are not buying, the need for recycled materials sags along with the economy. This became painfully evident with the economic crisis that began in October 2009. Recycling plants across the nation were hit hard. The demand for recycled products needed to manufacture new products was severely curtailed. The price for recycled products in some cases dropped 90% taking away the profit from these recycling facilities.

Our only hope is to make an effort to reuse as many products as we can at home, and to aim for zero waste. If recycling is no longer profitable for companies, we may see a future where we are charged for all the garbage we generate, and at a much higher rate than many of us pay now. Disposing highly toxic chemicals may be very expensive for the consumer.

Green Fundraising Ideas – Recycle Cell Phones for Ca$h

www.phoneraiser.com The Phoneraiser Basics – The first video in the Phoneraiser Video Series. We’ve take the hassle out of cell phone recycling and fundraising! From time to time, organizations such as schools, churches, and non-profit groups need to raise money. Phoneraiser offers all of these organizations and individuals a fast, easy, and environmentally friendly way to get cash by collecting used cell phones, iPods, digital cameras, video game handhelds, and inkjet cartridges from people in the community. The best part is you can use Phoneraiser as many times as you want! To sign up with Phoneraiser, visit http Thank you for taking a few minutes to find out how Phone Raiser can help you or your organization raise funds buy recycling used cell phones and ink jet cartridges. So far over 30000 organizations have signed up with the Phone Raiser program and enjoyed free easy and environmentally friendly fundraising campaigns. Heres how it works. Your group collects used cell phones and ink jet cartridges. You send them to Phone Raiser who pays you cash for every phone and cartridge. It really is that simple. There are no fees to pay and there is nothing to sell. And getting a fundraising campaign started is just that easy too. Register at www.phoneraiser.com and download the Phone Raiser guide, collect the phones and cartridges. Send them to Phone Raiser and well send you a check within 10 business days. Again there is nothing to sell and nothing to buy. Phone Raiser …

Recycling Your Old Cell Phones

In several months or years, you’ll rediscover them. By then, the phones will seem worthless to you, so you’ll probably discard them and subsequently, the phones will end up in the local landfill.

How do you recycle cell phones?

Passing your old phones on to family or friends is the simplest method of recycling. The majority of the phones we discard for an updated model or after switching service providers remain completely usable and functional. If you give it to a friend or family member, you’ll be sure that the phone will have an additional year or two of use. However, this merely stretches out the phone’s life cycle. You can help the environment by telling the person receiving the phone to recycle it properly when the time comes.

You can actually return your old cell phones to the manufacturer for recycling. The leading US service providers and manufacturers such as Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint have cell phone take-back programs with free shipping and/or discounts in subsequent purchases. They’ll ensure that the phones are refurbished or recycled in an environmentally safe manner. The companies receive a steady flow of recycled materials for producing new things while you ensure that your old phones are recycled safely and you receive discounts as well.

Donate your phones to your favorite charity or non-profit organization. A lot of these groups collect old cell phones and sell them to recyclers and refurbishers to raise funds. You can work with other non-profit organizations and even request material assistance from recycling companies if you wish to initiate a similar project in your area. Even children are getting involved with these projects. Zoos often place cell phone collection boxes near the entrance. Raising funds for a noble cause will put good use to something that would have been useless or even harmful if discarded inappropriately.

Recycle cell phones through refurbishing and recycling companies. Selling your old or used phones to businesses is quick and easy. Everything can be done on the internet in several minutes. Just visit the company’s website, check the actual buying price of your phone, and request a shipping label. After receiving the pre-paid labels, package your phones and mail them to the company. The company usually sends you the check within 4 business days of receiving your package.

There’s plenty of opportunity to improve our efforts to recycle cell phones. As more consumers learn the importance of recycling cell phones, we will be able to increase the recycling rate across the nation.

Aarkstore Enterprise-Advanced Storage Battery Market: from Hybrid/Electric Vehicles to Cell Phones

http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/Advanced-Storage-Battery-Market-from-Hybrid-Electric-Vehicles-to-Cell-Phones-13042.html

Advanced Storage Battery Market: from Hybrid/Electric Vehicles to Cell Phones

Table of Contents :  
Chapter 1: Executive Summary
Scope
Methodology
The Market
The World Rechargeable Battery Market in 2008
Figure 1-1: World Secondary Battery Market, 2004-2008 (in billions of dollars)
Figure 1-2: Rechargeable Battery Market Share by Battery Chemistry, 2008 (percent)
The U.S. Rechargeable Battery Market Tops $8 Billion in 2008
Figure 1-3: U.S. Rechargeable Battery Market, 2002-2008 (in billions of dollars)
Table 1-1: U.S. Primary and Secondary Battery Markets, 2002-2008 (in millions of dollars)
Countries That Manufacture Rechargeable Batteries
Figure 1-4: Countries Importing Rechargeable Batteries to the U.S., 2008 ( percent)
Market Trends
The Top Rechargeable Battery Manufacturing Companies of 2008
Figure 1-5: Manufacturers of Lead-Acid Storage Batteries by Battery Revenue, 2008 (percent)
Figure 1-6: Manufacturers of Portable Rechargeable Batteries by Battery Revenue, 2008 (percent)
The Dominance of Lithium-Ion Imports for the U.S. Market
The Dominance of Lithium-ion Batteries in Portable Electronics
Hybrid Vehicles Sales in the U.S
Figure 1-7: Battery Manufacturer Market Share for Hybrid Vehicle Ni-MH Batteries, 2008 (percent)
Battery Manufacturing Costs
Figure 1-8: U.S. Battery Manufacturing Producer Price Indexes: Primary & Secondary Batteries, 1998-2008 (index)
Rechargeable Battery Development Costs
Battery Environmentalism
Figure 1-9: RBRC Collection of Portable Rechargeable Batteries, 2001-2008 (in millions of pounds)
Battery Safety
Dawn of a New Era for Lithium-Ion in the U.S
Emerging Rechargeable Battery Technologies
Emerging Lithium-Ion Cathode Technologies
Table 1-2: Energy Density and Cost of Different Lithium-Ion Cathodes, 2002-2008 (in millions of dollars)
Emerging Lithium-Ion Anode Technologies
Emerging Non-Lithium Battery Technologies
Emerging Large Scale Battery Technologies
U.S. Government Funding in Rechargeable Battery Technologies
Figure 1-10: Department of Energy Secondary Battery Funding Structure, 2008
U.S. Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle Research
Table 1-3: Lithium-ion Capability Against USABC/FreedomCAR HEV Requirements, 2008
Battery research around the world
Consumer Trends
Retail Sales of Rechargeable Batteries Only a Small Fraction of the Market
OEM Portable Rechargeable Battery Usage in U.S. Homes
Figure 1-11: U.S. Ownership of Laptops, Cell Phones, Cordless Phones & Media Players by Percentage of Adult Population, 2004-2008
OEM Lead-Acid Rechargeable Battery Usage in U.S. Homes
Figure 1-12: U.S. Ownership of Vehicles by Percentage of Adult Population, 2004-2008
The Battery Landscape of 2013
World and U.S. Battery Market Forecast to 2013
Figure 1-13: World Rechargeable Battery Market Forecast, 2009-2013 (in billions of dollars)
Figure 1-14: U.S. Rechargeable Battery Market Forecast, 2009-2013 (in billions of dollars)

For more information please visit :

http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/Advanced-Storage-Battery-Market-from-Hybrid-Electric-Vehicles-to-Cell-Phones-13042.html

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